


Goodbye Steve

by alicemurphy



Category: Dead To Me (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends, Dixie Chicks, F/F, Fluff and Crack, Friendship, I guess it's probably fair to say it's a little angsty for a while, Kinda?, Murder, Songfic, friendship if you squint, goodbye earl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:49:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24439975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alicemurphy/pseuds/alicemurphy
Summary: Jen and Judy murder a guy and live happily ever after
Relationships: Judy Hale & Jen Harding, Judy Hale/Jen Harding
Comments: 4
Kudos: 43





	Goodbye Steve

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so this idea came to me when I was meant to be writing angst/was actually watching old Eurovisions and I just couldn’t stop it from becoming a full blown Thing™️
> 
> Basically, the idea is that Jen and Judy are Mary Anne and Wanda in the Dixie Chicks’ song Goodbye Earl. 
> 
> If you have never heard that song yet, PLEASE go watch the music video. I am so very jealous that you will get to experience it for the first time. It’s the best.
> 
> So anyway, yeah, stan the Dixie Chicks and I hope enjoy this ridiculous fic.

Jen and Judy meet on their first day of high school. Jen is glaring at the banner pasted across the front of the school to celebrate the new students, too bright and colourful for her taste, when she feels someone stop next to her. It’s a girl, in a long flowery dress. Undoubtedly another freshman.

She decides she should probably at least attempt to socialise.

“God, look at that. It’s so tacky” she tries.

“I made it.”

 _Ouch._ “Oh, erm... I, mean, it’s good, if you like that sort of thing, I just…”

“Relax, I’m just kidding.” Says the girl, smiling in apology. “I’m Judy”

“Jen,” she offers back, still clearly a little shaken but actually finding that she kinda likes something about the other girl.

“I’m sorry if I freaked you out. Can I give you hug?” Judy asks earnestly.

“What? No!” Jen responds, heckles up as always. Physical contact is not her thing. And yet somehow, five minutes later when the bell rings, Jen is leaning in to hug Judy goodbye.

*

Four years later and Jen and Judy have been the best of friends ever since that first day. They’re practically inseparable. They’ve taken all their classes together, despite being very different people interested in very different things. (Jen even takes Art for her arts requirement, hating every second of it, except not really when Judy is right next to her smiling at her.)

There was a time when Judy had to partially move into Jen’s bedroom when stuff kicked off at home with her Mom again. They loved every second.

All in all, it’s been an amazing four years for both of them.

At their graduation, they stand, Judy clutching to Jen’s arm, not wanting to be away from her for a single minute before they have to. Because tomorrow, Jen leaves. She’s going to New York on a dancing scholarship and Judy is so proud, she really is, but she is going to miss her _so_ much, it already hurts.

But Jen goes, and they talk everyday, much to Judy’s mom’s annoyance. Her mom tells Judy that she needs to start trying to find a husband, to get out of the house and give her some peace, and so that’s what Judy does.

She dates a couple of people, but they never seem very interested, especially when she’s talking about Jen. She tries, she really does, but nothing ever happens in this small town, and her best friend is living the most incredible life in Brooklyn, so of course she talks about her. It seems to scare them all away.

Until one day, when she meets Steve.

She’s sat in the back of the one of the exactly two bars in town, trying to avoid going home to see what state her mother is in again, when a stranger asks if the seat next to her is free. _Huh, I thought I knew all the guys in this town by now_.

“Oh, yeah no, please, I’m not here with anyone…”

Steve takes a seat in front of her, and starts chatting about himself, tells her that her and his brother were sent off to boarding school but that their parents actually own that big house just outside of town and he’s going to be so successful and he’s so disciplined and look at how much he obviously works out.

Judy barely gets to say a word, and she certainly doesn’t have an opportunity to talk about Jen. She’s not sure that she likes it. But Steve actually still seems interested in her at the end of the night for once– she hasn’t managed to send him running away like she did everyone else – and so she gives him her number and he promises her he’ll see her soon.

*

They’ve barely been dating three months before they get married.

Steve asks her to go on vacation with his family, skiing in France, which isn’t something Judy is interested in at all but he seems quite insistent and she doesn’t want to stop him from being happy.

Steve proposes on a ski lift, whilst Judy is trying to adjust her shoes because she’s all this skiing gear is so very uncomfortable, but still, she happily says yes. His mom apparently already knew about the proposal, enough to plan a surprise wedding in the hotel that night for her darling son.

Judy’s shocked, but not as shocked as Jen is when she finds out the next day that her best friend got married and she didn’t get to be here. Judy assures her that the wedding was beautiful, with so many flowers and lights and the incredible mountains behind her.

Jen thinks it sounds sort of disgusting, like it was probably picturesque in that way only obnoxiously rich people can achieve in order they can impress, or rather usurp, all their slightly less-rich friends.

It isn’t even too weeks later that it first happens.

Judy quit her job at the restaurant she had been working at since graduation after her and Steve became serious. He didn’t want her to have to work there anymore, which she thought was sweet. She’s just started at an assisted living facility and so far, she loved it – she got to paint all she wanted and the residents, for the most part, were so sweet to her.

On this particular afternoon, she had gotten lost in her painting – a little girl that probably looked suspiciously like a baby Jen – and didn’t realise she should have left work an hour ago. By the time she did get home, Steve was already there.

“Hey” says Judy as she walks into the kitchen where he is sitting with his computer.

“What the fuck baby? Where were you? I’ve been sitting here waiting for you for hours.” Steve fumes.

“I’m only about an hour late? I’m sorry, I got distracted painting. Totally lost track of time, that’s all” she states, going up to him. She tries to give her husband a kiss, but he leans away. _He’s never done that before._

“Don’t do that. You should have been here earlier. I’ve been sat here waiting for you. I’m hungry. I can’t waste my time on cooking. Jesus Christ, Judy, my time is actually valuable you know.” Steve’s anger only seems to be increasing.

She apologises again, and again, but he doesn’t stop, and when she tries to come closer to him to calm him down, he pushes her away, her back hitting the corner of the counter, sure to leave a bruise by the morning.

“Oh my god, baby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. You know I would never hurt you” says Steve, instantly so apologetic and caring.

“It’s okay.” Judy replies slowly, eventually, with a tiny smile to show she believes him.

“I promise it’ll never happen again.”

*

It keeps happening. She ends up having to wear long sleeved dresses and more make up to cover up the bruises that slowly start spreading across her body. After a particularly awful night, there’s even a few days where dark glasses are necessary all the time, which makes painting so much more difficult as she can’t see the colours properly. She doesn’t like it.

Her phone calls with Jen have started to become a little less frequent now that looking after Steve is taking up so much of her time, but she can still tell that her friend is becoming more and more worried about her every time they do talk.

It’s actually realising Jen’s concern for her that gives her the nerve to finally leave.

Judy hasn’t told her friend anything that has happened - if anything, she has been avoiding talking about Steve at all. She’s been trying to keep everything focused on Jen’s incredible new life, her dancing, her friends, anything but Judy herself.

But Jen can clearly tell that something is wrong, and Judy hears it in her voice every time they talk. And, whilst Steve has been pretty convincing when he tells Judy that it’s her fault - that he doesn’t want to have to act like this - so much so that Judy’s “I’m sorry” and “it’s okay” are instinctive now, Judy knows that if it was really okay, _she would have told Jen_.

If she’s keeping it from her best friend, her person, then it must not be okay. If Jen can tell that something is wrong just from the sound of her voice a couple of times a week, then something must really be wrong with her and her marriage.

And then there’s the other thing - she really doesn’t want Jen to be worrying about her. Jen has a fabulous life now, she almost has everything she ever dreamed of, and she shouldn’t be wasting time worried about Judy.

Sure, she could try to pretend better, or even cut off contact with Jen, so she won’t worry about Judy anymore.

She obviously isn’t going to do that.

Judy knows she couldn’t survive without Jen in her life, even if it’s only an occasional phone call. And she knows Jen feels the same, knows that trying to cut Jen out would be impossible. Jen’s like a dog with a bone with her, especially if she’s pissed off. If Judy tried to cut Jen off, she would probably somehow instantaneously _will_ herself to be on her doorstep to demand why, and that wouldn’t be good for anyone.

So that just leaves one option. The only way she can get Jen to stop worrying about her is to not give her any reason to be worried. She’s going to have to get away from Steve.

Judy worries for hours before her meeting with a lawyer, but it goes so smoothly. She leaves the office an hour later with divorce papers being drawn up and a restraining order being filed.

She moves back into her mother’s house, which is okay, because her mom has a new boyfriend and is never there. It’s nice to have her own space. And everything is fine for a few weeks.

Until one day, when Steve finds her when she’s leaving work, holding divorce paperwork in his hand and screaming blinding in her face and he won’t stop and then the world goes dark…

*

The next time Judy opens her eyes, the lights are bright and she can hear doctors being paged over the tannoy.

 _Right,_ she thinks, _I’m in the hospital. Shit._

She feels pressure on her hand and looks up to see Jen sat on the chair next to her. She looks so stressed even in her sleep, so worried, and Judy hates that she put that there.

Still, she can’t help but run her fingers over the blonde’s knuckles, gaining comfort from knowing that they’re finally together again.

Jen wakes up at the movement, smiling seeing that Judy is awake, and then remembering what happened and quickly souring. _How could anyone ever hurt her perfect Judy like this?_

Judy is just smiling. She knows that she will be okay now. Jen is _here_ and that is all that matters.

“Hey”, Judy starts.

“Hey yourself” Jen responds, trying to figure out what to say. She goes with a gentle; “what the fuck happened, Judes?” 

“Steve, he got the divorce papers through yesterday. Didn’t take it so well. Completely ignored the restraining order and found me at work.” The brunette tries to shrug but realises she can’t really move her left arm.

“I’m gonna fucking kill him.” Judy smiles at that. Really, she can’t stop smiling. Which is probably weird when her soon-to-be ex-husband has just put her in intensive care, but she really can’t bring herself to care about anything other than that _Jen is here._

She decides to say as much. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

Jen looks so thrown at that. Why would Judy care about her being here right now when they’re talking about what Steve’s put her through? That’s way more important.

“Where the fuck else would I be, honey? I practically sprinted out of my rehearsal on got straight on a flight over here when I found out you were hurt.”

Judy fake gasps, “ohhh, but you hate actually running.”

“I know, the things I do for the people I love”. Jen rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling a little now, a little of the worry gone from her face.

They spend a few minutes catching up, Judy clearly trying to avoid talking about what happened in any more detail, preferring instead to ask Jen about that how that recital went last weekend and whether anything more has happened with the girl from the coffee shop Jen had mentioned once.

Eventually a nurse comes around to check on Judy, examining her and telling her she’ll probably be stuck in the hospital for a few days. Before she leaves, she mentions that the police will be by soon to get a statement about what happened.

That makes Judy panic a little. Jen sees it in her body language the second the police are mentioned. She tries to move closer, if that is possible with how Jen is sitting on her bed by now, and asks, “What’s going on Judy?”

“Erm… it’s just. It’s the police. I’m not sure I should tell them what happened. Steve, he erm, he said he’d kill me if I ever told anyone what actually happened.” The woman in the hospital bed responds, tears freely flowing down her cheeks.

Jen’s heart breaks. “Judy” is all she can get out, as gently as possible, before her own tears start to fall, and she starts carefully pulling her friend into the softest hug.

“Are you absolutely sure that I can’t kill the fucking asshole” Jen offers, trying to make Judy laugh, anything to make her smile again.

There’s a pause that lasts just slightly too long, like they’re both actually considering it, before Judy laughs. It doesn’t sound genuine to either of them. Jen pulls back so she can see Judy’s face.

“Jude… are you? Do you actually want that to happen?”

“What no, of course not.” Judy says immediately. Then after a moment, “it’s just, I know he’s still out there. And he’s already proved he doesn’t care about the restraining order. I’m never going to feel free of him, am I?”

Silence sits between them for a few seconds, Judy twirling Jen’s ring in around her fingers. Jen’s thinking, and that’s never good.

“We could do it, you know” offers Jen eventually. “Literally no one here cares about him, he’s an asshole to everyone right? And you said his parents are still in France or wherever rich bullshit place they go to for the winter right. No one would ever need to know.”

Judy blinks a couple times. Then a few more.

“Oh… okay” she says than pauses, lowering her voice so it is almost inaudible, except that Jen is so close. “Wait, we are actually talking about _killing him,_ right?? How would we even do that?”

And so the two work out a plan, holding hands and whispering to each other, and really, it takes far less time than it probably should for both of them to decide that _Steve_ _has to die._

It takes so little time, in fact, that Jen is leaning back in her chair, complaining about how annoying one of the other dancers at her school is, when the police arrive. They want Jen to leave, so she starts to grab her bag, drawing Judy’s attention to it for the first time.

“You only brought your dance bag with you?” Judy asks curiously. It is so not like Jen to travel that light.

The blonde actually blushes. “Like I said. I ran straight out of rehearsal to the airport. I didn’t exactly have time to pack a suitcase when I heard you weren’t okay. You’re lucky I even have real shoes on and aren’t still in taps…”

Judy beams at the admission, Jen just pushing her good arm a little and offering a “see you in a bit. I’m going to see if I can find some food.”

“Ooh, see if you can find any cookies? The little ones?”

Jen smiles and nods. She thinks once again how amazing Judy she finds Judy, even after all this has happened. She walks out the door, leaving Judy to lie to the police like they planned.

*

Jen finally meets Steve when he turns up at the hospital three days later, just before Judy is about to be released.

He says “knock knock” as he walks through the door and it takes every ounce of strength inside of her not to punch the fucker in the face right then and there. He doesn’t even notice that she’s there.

“Hey, baby! What happened? I had to hear from my dry-cleaner that you were in here when she asked me how you are. I can’t believe you didn’t call me.” He pouts. Like actually pouts.

Jen thinks that if she and Judy hadn’t already come up with a plan to kill this motherfucker, she would have gladly bashed his head in with the nearest hard object. _How the fuck is he standing there acting like he isn’t fucking responsible for the entire fucking shitty situation?_

Judy glances at her briefly, as if to say, ‘are you okay’ and ‘please don’t do anything stupid’, but really, she trusts the other woman not to spoil their plan. And so, she quickly brings her attention back to Steve, steeling herself for the part she’s going to have to play.

“Hi” she says meekly, accepting Steve’s brief hug.

There’s a slightly awkward silence, where Steve’s looking at her, as if he’s trying to figure out what’s different about her, before he accepts that obviously what he said the last time he saw his wife clearly worked. Judy isn’t screaming for him to get out or yelling about the restraining order, the police never visited him, she must have agreed to come back to him just like he wanted.

“They said I’m going to be released later today. I was thinking that maybe I could back home? I could cook dinner, your favourite if you like?” offers Judy to try to get him to stop analysing her and to get things moving.

Steve beams. He’s winning. “That sounds amazing baby. You’re gonna have to go shopping though. I haven’t exactly been eating much without you there to cook.”

Jen is still sitting besides Judy’s bed, holding her hand, going totally unacknowledged. She reminds herself to kick Steve’s body a few hundred times once he’s dead. Or maybe stab him. Either should be good. For now, she just clears her throat a little.

“Oh, err, hi. Who are you?” Steve strains to ask.

“Jen” she replies simply.

“Oh. _You’re_ Jen? I kinda thought this one was just making you up to seem more interesting. She isn’t really the type to have actual friends, you know.” _I wonder if I can drop kick him off a cliff_ , Jen thinks.

“Nope, I’m a very fucking real woman, thank you” says Jen as politely as she can possibly manage. It doesn’t really work. The distain is impossible to completely keep out of her voice.

Steve smiles awkwardly.

“Well, erm, it’s… great to finally meet, Jen. I really need to get going, big meeting today with a couple of my erm, foreign clients, really can’t afford to miss it hanging around here. I’ll see you at home later, yeah baby?”

Judy nods and then, as fast as he arrived, Steve is gone. _Of fucking course, he wouldn’t stay to take his injured wife home_. _He’s just going to leave her with her fucking imaginary friend instead._ God, Jen hates him.

But there are more important things to be worried about right now, so once Jen is sure he’s left, she quickly pulls Judy towards her, holding her, trying to reassure her that he won’t be in her life much longer. Soon, it will all be okay soon.

*

It’s later that day, and Steve is sat at the head of the dining room table, Judy far away at the other end, plates of food in front of them both.

Judy had done as promised and made Steve’s favourite – a truly horrific Black Eyed-Peas side from a recipe that his Mom had given to her as her wedding present. What a truly _lovely_ woman. Judy has always hated it, but Steve insists on it at least twice a week anyway.

“Is this my Mom’s recipe? It tastes a little different” he asks semi-accusingly.

Judy is trying so hard to hide her nerves. “Oh, yeah, it is. They didn’t have our usual butter though, so I had to get a different one. I’m sorry if it’s not quite as nice. I thought it tasted similar enough that it’d be alright.”

“No, no. It’s good. You should get this one from now on.” Judy tries to hide a smile. _Whatever you say, Steve…_

They’re almost finished with dinner, Judy about to serve dessert, when she notices her husband is starting to sway a little, looking a little weak?

“You okay, Steve?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry baby. I’m feeling a little off. I think all the stress that you put me through must be getting to me now you’re back.”

Judy grinds her teeth, biting back the response she really wants to say, instead sweetly proposing; “why don’t you go and lay down on the couch for a little bit honey, try to get some sleep? I’ll clean all this up.”

Steve stumbles to the sofa, collapsing face first onto it and immediately passing out. Five minutes later, table cleared, Judy goes over to check that he’s no longer breathing. Nope. _Bye-bye Steve._

“We’re good!” she announces, opening the cupboard that holds all the fine china dining sets she’s never been allowed to touch so Jen can step out holding a tarp and some string, which she places on the couch by Steve’s body.

Jen immediately turns to focus on Judy, needing to know that she’s okay, that she doesn’t have any regrets, that she can carry on. Judy looks happy though, free in a way Jen doesn’t think she’s seen since their high school days. They share a look and they both end up grinning.

“Guess we should get on with it, huh?” Judy asks, gesturing to the body on the couch.

“Just a second. I need to do this first,” says Jen, and in a flash, she’s holding her friend, rocking her to and fro with the intensity of the hug.

Judy starts laughing at how ridiculous the whole situation is. “Is it weird that I feel like dancing?” she says, and instantly Jen twirls her, making her laugh even more.

Eventually, they do have to get to work, rolling Steve off the couch into the tarp and wrapping it up tight. Jen feels like talking to him – she wants to know how it feels, to be wrapped up in the a tarp, trapped in the dark, knowing that the woman he tried to destroy is the one that did this to him. But knowing he’s dead now is enough; she can enjoy that much.

They somehow get the body into the trunk of Jen’s car, both internally complaining about how much more difficult killing someone is than they thought it would be.

Jen decides to drive them out of state, under the cloud of darkness, to a ravine that she somehow found out is a pretty common place for mobsters and gangs to dump their bodies. _At least Steve will be with assholes just like him_ , Jen thinks.

On the way there, Judy starts to wonder if it’s weird how normal this all seems. They’ve just murdered her husband and he’s literally in the trunk of their car, but neither of them is upset or freaked out – they’re joking about stupid town names they see and Judy is humming along to the radio and it’s like they’re just Jen and Judy again. It’s really nice.

They reach the ravine and struggle with the body again. If Judy notices how Jen ‘accidentally’ drops him once he’s far enough away from the car to not cause it any damage, she doesn’t say anything.

“So long, motherfucker,” Jen says as they watch the Steve’s tarp-wrapped body fall down the ravine, grinning a little at the way his body keeps hitting rocks and branches on the way down.

“Goodbye Steve,” is all Judy says.

They’re both waving, smiling, and yeah, maybe it’s a little messed up, but at least they’re safe now.

*

Judy goes to the police the next morning to tell them that it was actually Steve who hurt her, that he broke his restraining order then and again at the hospital. And if she ‘accidentally’ drops in something about the Greek mafia and money laundering, well it’s just to help give the police other suspects in case his body is ever found.

The cops go to Steve’s house to try to find him, searching thoroughly enough to find a hidden cabinet full of paperwork tying Steve to his Greek buddies.

They turn up at Judy’s door a few days later and Jen near enough has a heart attack when she opens the door.

Turns out these police are lovely though. They say “I’m so sorry for scaring you ma’am. I hope you didn’t think we were your friend’s husband. I don’t think either of you will be seeing him again. He’s probably either on the run after we found out about all his…. activities, or the mafia he’s been associated with has found him. Either way, he shouldn’t be bothering you again.”

Judy and Jen share the most relieved smile. They aren’t suspects, and the police really don’t care that much about finding him, assuming he’s long gone or dead. Their plan really couldn’t have worked better.

The police officers leave after a cup of coffee, tipping their hats at the women and saying a quick “if you hear from him, make sure you let us know okay? We can help protect you” to Judy.

*

Time passes. Jen doesn’t go back to New York, she defers her school a year so she can stay with Judy, help her through in case she ever does start to regret what they did. But that day never seems to come.

Weeks go by and Judy is still smiling.

Then it’s summer, and Judy is still next to her, still looking like all the weight is off her shoulder’s, like she can finally relax.

Steve is officially declared ‘Missing’, in addition to the warrant that is already out for his arrest. The ‘Missing’ campaign seems to be everywhere – everywhere Jen and Judy go there is a milk carton or a poster with Steve’s face on. It’s financed by his parents, but they care so much that they still haven’t come back from Europe, so Judy isn’t too concerned.

No one really misses someone as awful as him.

Judy certainly doesn’t look bothered whenever she sees his face plastered somewhere. On one particularly great day, they’re walking down the street hand in hand and see a boy drinking directly from a milk carton before throwing it on the floor and stomping right on his face. Jen and Judy form matching smirks at that.

And then it’s fall, and it’s Jen’s favourite time so fat, because Judy is still looking so happy, so content with how her life is now, and she’s back to being the social butterfly that everyone loves with other people too, not just Jen. She doesn’t feel unworthy anymore, doesn’t feel like she’s a burden or unlovable, doesn’t feel like her work is useless.

She feels loved, and like she wants to love people back. She realises how much she can actually help people, how important and easy being kind is, and so that’s what she tries to do with everyone. It just makes Jen love her even more.

Judy doesn’t even complain when Jen announces she doesn’t want to go back to New York to carry on dancing. Jen was expecting a huge argument and a load of crying whilst Judy tried to persuade her that she had to go. She was expecting her to say something stupid like ‘I can’t let you stop living your life for me’ or ‘you love dancing, I can’t let you stop for me.’

_I mean, fuck, as if anything is more important than Judy._

Judy seems to get that though now – she gets that spending the rest of the lives like this is all that the both of them want, and that they _both_ deserve it. Equally.

Jen thinks Judy not arguing is a nice surprise, but not as fucking amazing as when Judy finally gets all the paintings back from Steve’s house, months after the police are done searching the place, and immediately rips apart the frames to reveal hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash that Steve had hidden away.

“What the fuck Judes?”

Judy is beaming.

“How the fuck did you keep this from the fucking police? Jesus Christ, how did you keep this from _me?”_

“I told them that I had to leave all my art there when I left him, that he never let me get it back, and apparently the police took great care to look _around_ all my paintings in the garage but didn’t want to risk damaging them anymore. I think seeing you crying that one time when they sorta upset me really freaked them out and they didn’t want to risk it happening again” says the brunette, ignoring the last half of the question. She’s biting the inside of her mouth cheekily, trying to get a rise out of Jen.

“Eww, Judy, don’t remind me. Anyway, it was probably all your woo woo ‘be careful around my crystals’ shit that freaked them out more. They were scared to touch your stuff in case it snapped back at them or something”

“You still really don’t get what crystals do, do you?”

“Nope and I don’t ever need to.” Jen bites, but they’re both wearing grins. “Anyway, tell me, what are we going to do with all this fucking money babe?

“I had an idea for that actually…”

*

Judy’s idea is buying some land a little way out of town with this cute little farmhouse in the middle of it. Jen thinks its completely adorable and Judy should 1000% live here, so of course she fakes gagging and says how gross it is. They both move into it anyway.

Finally, Judy gets the garden she has always dreamed about, one that grows vegetables and has a little strawberry patch so she can cook amazing food and make jam to her heart’s content.

She pays for Jen to get her realtor’s licence, so that at least one of them has a decent income coming into their house, and Jen finds she actually enjoys the job, especially once she partner’s with the new guy in town, Christopher.

Judy keeps working at the assisted living facility, genuinely loving that job even if it’s something she only started because of Steve. But Judy’s very favourite thing is their stand at the farmer’s market that takes place one weekend a month in the next town.

On that weekend, she gets up absurdly early to get her strawberry jam and a few of the other vegetables she’s been growing ready, loving sharing the food she so caringly creates and getting to talk to so many new people.

Every single time, Jen is up at the crack of dawn with her, standing close so she can murmur to her about how annoying she finds each and every person there is, or how it is far too early and she hates that this is her ridiculous life now.

Judy knows that none of that is true. That Jen has absolutely zero regrets about rushing to her bedside, that there is nothing that anyone could do to convince her to leave their life and go back to New York.

That’s never more obvious to Judy than when they’re just them, together in their little house, getting to just be together.

It’s not an extraordinary night. They’re sat a little too close, Judy leaning into Jen, one of Jen’s hands holding a glass of wine, the other wrapped around the brunette. Eventually the show they’re watching finishes, and the next thing Judy knows, she’s being pulled up, Jen attaching herself to one hand and dragging her sleepily towards their room.

They technically have their own bedrooms, but Judy’s is mostly just an art room. She thinks she might have slept in the bed in there twice the whole time they’ve been living here. Instead, they get to fall asleep besides each other night in and night out. Exactly where they both want to be.

If they ever have trouble sleeping, it’s because they can’t stop talking, can’t stop making each other laugh or having heart to hearts under the cover of darkness. They never lose sleep because of him.

Sometimes Judy wonders if they should, if its not normal for them to feel as safe and comfortable and happy as they do. But then again, what is normal for two people who murdered someone? Normal isn’t really ever going to be applicable to them. So, she figures it’s okay, and they both sleep absolutely fine.

*

It’s years later. The sun’s out, rare for this early in the year, and Judy decides to make a picnic and take their little family out for a day by the lake. Jen happily agrees, packing their sons into the car whilst Judy finishes up with the food. She learnt long ago not to interfere with Judy’s food – it’s the woman’s primary love language – well that and physical affection.

It isn’t until they’re almost there that Jen’s phone beeps with an email from Christopher. She looks quickly, vowing to keep her phone away once they leave the car, noticing the date at the top. _Huh._

An hour later and Charlie is playing at the edge of the water with some other kids, Henry asleep sprawled across the two women where they’re sitting on Judy’s picnic blanket.

“So, I realised something on the way up here” starts Jen.

“Hmm?” Judy responds a little absentmindedly. She’s distracted by how Jen is playing with her rings again.

“I noticed the date. You know it’s 15 years since we, _you know-ed_ , Steve.”

“Is it? Huh how time flies hey,” says Judy, a little too casually for Jen’s liking.

“Do you ever think about him?” Jen tries, attempting not to pry to much but she’s genuinely curious. They really haven’t talked about it much over the years.

“About Steve? I kinda try not to. I’m way happier now than I ever was with him” replies Judy, smiling. She adds an “obviously”, because _duh_ , and _why would Jen ever ask otherwise?_

Jen rolls her eyes far too sarcastically, but grins anyway. “Well yeah. I meant more do you ever think about what we did? Do you ever regret it?”

“No. Of course not” is the immediate response. And then a slightly more cautious, “why, do you? Have you been worrying about him all this time? Oh God did you never want to -”

“- What? No Judes, fucking chill okay. Absolutely not! I’m so fucking glad he’s gone” answers Jen, her voice bordering on anger with her need to refute what Judy was saying.

“Good.”

“Yeah… Good.”

Judy tilts her head. “Why do you still sound angry?”

Jen lowers her voice as far as it can go. Henry’s out of it, and he’s probably still too young to understand what they’re really saying anyway, but just in case.

“Because you fucking thought that I didn’t want Steve Wood fucking dead, or that I haven’t been so happy that we gave asshole what he deserved every second of the last fifteen years.”

“Okay then… Are you still angry now?”

“Jesus Judy, you’re so ridiculous.”

“But in the best way, right?” asks Judy, all smiles again.

“Yeah, in the best way” responds Jen a little dreamily.

*

“I was thinking, you know we’re basically the plot of a bluegrass song?”

“We are?? Cool. Quick question, Judy - what the fuck is bluegrass?”

**Author's Note:**

> 🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕🪕


End file.
